This study examines the failure of the Soviet transition to
democracy by focusing on the political rhetoric and the institutional
design of Gorbachev's demokratizatsiya. An antithesis exists
between the liberal, representative design, which attempts to
moderate the "excesses of democracy," and a radical democratic
design, with its strong appeal to direct, unmediated popular action.
The theoretical parameters are thus the Madisonian view of
"representation without democracy" and the Rousseauian notion of
"democracy without representation." The latter belies a populist plebiscitary
model of democracy which may have authoritarian
implications.
I trace the latter in Marxist-Leninist ideology, and its
embodiment in the institutional framework of the Soviet ancient
regime where, however, the radical democratic elements were
neutralised by party control. Although Gorbachev's
demokratizatsiya introduced competitive elections and
"parliamentarism," it was not conceived as a transition to Westernstyle
liberal democracy. It was the product of "reformism without
revisionism," inspired by a intense populistic rhetoric, and aiming
to mobilise the masses through a grand reawakening of direct
democracy devices.
The self-destructive consequences of this approach are
analysed, drawing the conclusion that the hybrid institutional
design of demokratizatsiya, its attempt to combine direct and
representative democracy, was inherently contradictory and
generated a devastating conflict. I focus on the role played by four
major democratic institutions: mandat imperatif, recall, the
referendum, and presidentialism. While the rhetoric and practice of
mandate and recall contributed to delegitimise the first elected
Soviet legislature, the synergy between presidentialism and
referendum determined the failure of democratic transition and
ultimately sealed the fate of the USSR. Finally, the legacy of these
events will be examined, highlighting that most post-Soviet states
may be heading down towards a populist-plebiscitary type of
democracy, with evident authoritarian implications.